Looking at How Learners & Program Management See the Learner Journey
08/31/24 • 5 min
The effectiveness of a graduate program depends on the understanding of individual learner journeys by program leaders and faculty, as well as the understanding of the program’s learner journey by individual learners. I explored these understandings from two distinct perspectives of the learner journey in my two previous episodes. One perspective was that of the learner, and the other was that of the program’s management. This episode's purpose is to show how aligning the two perspectives develops a framework for effectively managing graduate programs to the benefit of a diverse set of stakeholders, such as individual learners, faculty members, employers, and the community.
The effectiveness of a graduate program depends on the understanding of individual learner journeys by program leaders and faculty, as well as the understanding of the program’s learner journey by individual learners. I explored these understandings from two distinct perspectives of the learner journey in my two previous episodes. One perspective was that of the learner, and the other was that of the program’s management. This episode's purpose is to show how aligning the two perspectives develops a framework for effectively managing graduate programs to the benefit of a diverse set of stakeholders, such as individual learners, faculty members, employers, and the community.
Previous Episode
From Lead Collection to Fan Creation - Guiding Learners Through Your Graduate Programs Learner Journey The Program Management View
Once learners realize a learning need, they usually start a journey to address it. Many times, the journey starts out as self-directed and, at some point, it transitions to a guided journey. When a graduate degree program is involved, much of the self-directed journey planning starts with a web browser and an internet search. And during any stage of their search, learners may evaluate multiple journeys, all created by competing graduate programs.
The journey the learner ultimately selects is likely the one with the best guidance throughout each leg of the journey they are exploring. From a graduate program management view, the best guidance is likely provided by a journey organized around three systems:
- Lead Collection,
- Learner Conversion, and
- Fan Creation.
Designing and managing the journey with a systems approach facilitates the coordination of the program’s moving parts and components, which helps ensure learners receive the guidance they seek at each phase of any journey they are exploring. Let me give you an overview of each system and show you how they all connect.
Next Episode
The Importance of Understanding Your Graduate Program’s Audience
Who is your graduate program designed to serve?
Or can you describe your program’s target audience? Would your answers be the same or different for each question? Should they be the same or different? Or could they be the same or different? How would the major role players that support your graduate program respond to these questions?
The question “Who is your graduate program designed to serve?” isn’t just critical – it is a keystone of strategic planning for a graduate program.
Click here to view the blog article: Who is your graduate program designed to serve?
Graduate Management Education (GME) News Digest - Making Graduate Program Management Simpler - Looking at How Learners & Program Management See the Learner Journey
Transcript
Welcome back to the GME News Digest podcast series. I'm Rodney Olsen host for today's episode. Looking at how learners and program management see the learner journey. Today, we're delving deeper into the learner journey, exploring how graduate program leaders can effectively guide students from the initial inquiry to becoming lifelong advocates by viewing the learner journey from two perspectives…A successful graduate program hinges on understanding the learner jour
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